SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) – My Miss Aurelia won the $100,000 Mandy’s Gold Stakes for fillies and mares Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course in the 2011 2-year-old filly champion’s injury-delayed return to competition.
She was making her first start since taking the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs and was last from the starting gate, trailing four opponents into the stretch turn before rider Julien Leparoux asked her to give chase.
She finished three lengths clear of Delightful Quality. The Steve Asmussen-trained filly ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.90. A 1-4 favorite, she earned $60,000 for owner Stonestreet Stable and paid $2.50, $2.10 and $2.10. Delightful Quality paid $3 and $2.40, and Well Kept, third of five, returned $3 to show.
Earlier, Sportswriter rallied to win the $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes Cab Calloway Division for 3-year-olds by a neck. Javier Castellano rode Sportswriter for trainer Rudy Rodriguez. The winner ran six furlongs in 1:10.75 and earned $60,000 for owner Acqua Nova Stable. He paid $12.80, $3.60 and $2.80. King Kreesa returned $2.40 and $2.10. Sleepy Freud, third of six, paid $4.70 to show.
Fasig-Tipton sales in Saratoga fall short of 2011
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) – A late surge of buying brought total receipts for the two-night Fasig-Tipton select yearling thoroughbred sale almost in line with the 2011 results.
But the auction in Saratoga Springs, one of the elite American yearling sales, concluded Tuesday with key statistics below those of a year ago.
In total, 107 yearlings were sold for $32 million – an average price of $299,065 and median of $225,000, a decline of 2.7 percent in gross receipts, 6.3 percent in average price and 10 percent in median price from 2011. Last year, 103 horses sold for $32.9 million, an average of $319,340 and median of $250,000.
Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai was the top buyer at the opening session. His representative, John Ferguson, spent $3.325 million over both nights.
Legendary steward Pete Pedersen dies at 92
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) – Pete Pedersen, a longtime steward in California who was given the racing industry’s highest honor, has died at the age of 92.
Santa Anita racing officials said in a statement Wednesday that Pedersen died over the weekend due to complications suffered from a recent fall at his home.
Born in Washington state, Pedersen helped build the now-shuttered Longacres track that opened in 1933 near Seattle.
He worked for more than 60 years in various positions and presided over some of the industry’s most prestigious events, including the inaugural Breeders’ Cup in 1984 at Hollywood Park.
He was given the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2002. Three years later, he retired.
Pedersen is survived by his partner, Marlene Crain, and two sons from a prior marriage.
Horse Racing Recap: My Miss Aurelia wins Mandy’s Gold at Saratoga is a post from: PhatzRadio.com
